After my last (and first) AOK Gourmet post, this one is going to seem very simple.

The pumpkin that I pureed for my Thanksgiving meal was big. It provided enough puree to make 3 pumpkin pies, a couple trays of baby food ice cubes with about 4 cups to spare.

With the remaining puree, I had my heart... rather... my tummy (!) set on some sort of muffin or bready dessert that could be made with pumpkin. I have to give another shout out to my good friend and veteran blogger Aimee (over at Under the High Chair) for posting a recap of her "playing with pumpkin" series. I quickly skimmed the different recipes she suggests for pumpkin dessert (including fudge, brownies and muffins) and the pumpkin spice cake seemed perfect - especially since it included a maple-cream cheese icing (hello!). I've been eating the cake for 2 days now and the thought of that icing still makes my mouth water. And here I thought "salt" was my weakness...

The cake was incredibly easy to make (see the recipe at the end of this post) With my new (and much loved) kitchen aid stand mixer - the batter was whipped up in no time. I think I have issues following instructions so let me fill you in on what I did differently... (1) I baked the cake in a glass 9 x 13 (Pyrex) pan instead of a baking pan (for some reason I don't own a 13 x 10 in. baking pan) and (2) I just smeared the frosting over the entire cake instead of using a piping bag to pipe the frosting onto the individual bars. The glass pan didn't make a difference at all. The frosting on the other hand... well it certainly still tastes great... but it just doesn't look as nice as Aimee's!

So not only was the cake super EASY to make - it is super-moist, incredibly delicious... totally "comfort" food. I love it. Brandon loves it. Layla literally licked-up the frosting left in her dessert bowl! Meaghan was reaching and hoping and wishing (Of course I didn't giver her any. Well... maybe just a dab of icing on my finger tip!). The guys who were over to watch the hockey game last night thought it was yummy... And I just finished another piece alongside a cup of coffee. What? I needed a snack and it's really too easy to eat. Brandon described it as "carrot cake without the icky texture". I don't mind the carrot cake texture, but I think I prefer pumpkin spice cake.

So if you have a couple minutes and some pumpkin puree on hand (canned will do) - make it, enjoy it and tell me about it!

A.

(PS) After writing out the recipe (below)... I realized that I also forgot to add the baking powder to the cake. It was still good.... I guess it would have been a little "fluffier" if I'd done it according to the instructions! Sigh... Please keep in mind that I never said I was a cook or a baker.

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Pumpkin Spice Cake with Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting

4 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
15 oz can pumpkin
2 cups sifted all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

(frosting)
8 oz package of cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup butter (softened)
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (AKA icing sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy.
3. Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.
4. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until smooth.
5. Spread the batter into a greased 13 x 10 in. baking pan.
6. Let bake 30 minutes.
7. Cool completely before frosting

To make the icing:

1. Combine cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl (with an electric mixer) until smooth.
2. Add sugar and mix at low speed until combined.
3. Stir in vanilla and maple syrup and mix again.
4. Fill a piping bag and pipe frosting onto cooled pumpkin bars.